Artemis Racing shuts the door on Aleph’s Fairytale run at the Americas Cup World Series Match Racing Championship

San Diego, California, 17/11/2011 – Artemis Racing

has advanced into the Semi Final of the AC World Series Match Racing

Championship in San Diego, beating a red-hot Aleph team to join the

final four. The last match of the day was a cat and mouse affair, the

result in doubt until the very end, but finally, Artemis Racing

prevailed.

© 2011 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget 

“It was never over, until it was over,” said a relieved Terry

Hutchinson, the skipper of the Swedish boat after racing. “It was dicey

out there… We had to hang tough. It’s a testament to the team that we

were able to get through.”

“We did a good job in both starts, had a nice lead, but it really

didn’t count for much,” agreed Artemis tactician Iain Percy, speaking

about the conditions. “You don’t always get dealt a good hand.”

The day dawned with a thick fog enveloping San Diego Bay but it had

burned off by mid-morning, allowing a light 7-10 knot sea breeze to

build. By early afternoon however, the fog settled in again, dropping

the temperature and keeping the wind light and shifty in the bay.

Aleph skipper Pierre Pennec led his crew into battle five times on

Thursday (although only four counted), bullying his way through the

fleet from the lowest seeded pair. After dispatching China Team, Team

Korea and ORACLE Racing Coutts, Aleph ran out of magic in the match

against Terry Hutchinson and Artemis.

The final result was heartbreaking for Aleph, who saw the first attempt

at the match against Artemis Racing abandoned just as Pennec and crew

had overcome an early penalty to take the lead. An external technical

issue had caused the race course boundaries to disappear, affecting the

race on the water and giving the Race Committee no choice but to abandon

the contest.

In the second start sequence for the match, Hutchinson and crew were

again able to put a penalty on to Aleph in the pre-start, gaining an

early advantage they would need to fight to protect all the way around

the course. The final race was sailed in extremely light, variable and

shifty winds, meaning the early lead Artemis Racing had built was never

safe. In fact, on the final upwind, Aleph drew even during one cross,

passing just inches behind, but Hutchinson held his nerve, and protected

his narrow advantage to the finish.

“We were leading in the first match before it was abandoned,” said an

exhausted Pennec, after completing his full dance card of races. “In the

second start we had a penalty, but we did well with the windshifts to

match them right up to the last mark, so it was a good day for us. I

really wanted to beat Artemis, but it’s normal (they’re a strong team,

higher ranked).”

By losing the opening match to Aleph, China Team finishes in ninth

place. The other teams to fall today, Green Comm Racing, Team Korea,

ORACLE Racing Coutts and Aleph will race again on Saturday for places

eight through five. On Friday, the four Semi Finalists will race in

‘best of three’ matches.

Results – San Diego Match Racing Championship – Qualifying Matches
Q1. Aleph beat China Team
Q2. ORACLE Racing Coutts beat Green Comm Racing
Q3. Aleph beat Team Korea
Q4. Aleph beat ORACLE Racing Coutts
Q5. Artemis Racing beat Aleph

Artemis Racing qualifies for the Semi Finals joining Energy Team,

Emirates Team New Zealand, and ORACLE Racing Spithill each of whom

previously qualified via the seeding races on Wednesday.

Friday’s Semi Final Matches (first to two)
SF1. Emirates Team New Zealand vs. ORACLE Racing Spithill
SF2. Energy Team vs. Artemis Racing

How to follow:

Online, the America’s Cup website, www.americascup.com has all the

news, features, images and results from San Diego, including a webcam

from the team bases. Starting with the championship races from November

16-20, the event YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/americascup will have

live and on-demand streaming coverage of all racing. And for the first

time, there will also be live streaming to iOS mobile devices through

the America’s Cup YouTube channel.

The America’s Cup Village, which features food, merchandise, exhibits

and entertainment is housed on North Harbor Drive, between Broadway and

Navy Piers. From November 16-20, the AC Village will feature live music

each evening.

The races of the America’s Cup World Series will take place just off

Broadway and Navy Piers, within the tight confines of San Diego Bay.

Spectators will be able to take advantage of a number of good shore-side

viewing points, including a public spectator area at the end of

Broadway Pier. In the AC Village there will be live video with expert

commentary on the big screen from Wednesday through Sunday. Entrance to

the AC Village is a suggested donation of $10 to help support ocean

conservation efforts.

Racing at the America’s Cup World Series – San Diego is scheduled to start with a warning signal at 1:05 pm each race day.